Sunny Sweeney On ‘My Bed’, Backhanded Compliments And Doing Her Own Thing – Interview

Talking the ‘My Bed’ song and video, fangirling over Will Hoge, the album ‘Provoked’, Miranda Lambert’s Certified Platinum tour, her husband, women on country radio, incorporating other genres into country, her time at Big Machine, SXSW, Austin, her love of the Dixie Chicks, her obsession with food, backhanded compliments, rapping, her mom and coming to the UK.

Sunny Sweeney is really coming into her own. Years since she moved on from regional Texas success to a contract with Big Machine and commercial airplay, she funded her most recent album ‘Provoked’ through the crowdfunding platform PledgeMusic and signed a deal with Thirty Tigers to distribute it so she could remain largely independent. First single ‘Bad Girl Phase’ was a #1 in her home state, but it’s new single ‘My Bed’ (a duet with Will Hoge) that has got the most people talking. With a music video coming next week, a recent stint on Miranda Lambert’s Certified Platinum tour and plenty of critical acclaim, I was pretty excited to talk to Sunny just as SXSW 2015 was kicking off in the city she now resides in.

Once we’d connected the Skype call and said our hellos (I noted I wasn’t going to turn my video on because I was sick and “you don’t need to see that”, and she responded by joking that she was ugly because she’d just come back from the gym), I let her know the points I wanted to touch on during the interview. “Cool! You can talk about whatever you wanna talk about,” she said cheerfully. “I like you so much, I love all your posts.” I laughed. “Thank you! Well it’s nice to know – usually I get nervous for interviews, no matter who it is but I was actually quite excited to talk to you today.”

“Yeah, don’t get nervous talkin’ to me, I like talkin’ to people that are funny!” She assured me in that warm Southern drawl. I laughed again, because I am terrible at taking compliments in a sane way. “Well I’m flattered that you think so, ‘cause I’m sometimes I’m like mmm… I don’t know if people get me,” I replied. I could hear the cheeky sass building in Sunny’s voice as she mused, “This is what my thought process is – if I have to actually think about it, and I’m like ahh shit, should I post that? Then I post it.” Giggling once again, I mentioned the trouble that doing that gets me in. She reciprocates with a rolling laugh, the end to an exchange that sets the upbeat tone for the rest of the interview, a 30-minute conversation that turns out to be one of my favorites for her insight, her wit and her likeable down-to-Earth nature.

Vickye: The single ‘My Bed’, obviously it’s a duet and you did it with Will Hoge. What’s the reaction been like so far?

Sunny: Well people are really liking it, like when I do it at shows and stuff and we did it at the Grand Ole Opry the other night. Vince Gill and Bill Anderson and a couple other people were like wow, that’s really country! So I was kind of felt validated, I was like what? Yes! (laughs)

Vickye: So how many times have you performed at the Opry?

Sunny: 42.

Vickye: Wow!

Sunny: Not that I’m counting!

Vickye: (laughs) Well, has it [My Bed] had any airplay outside of Texas, or does mainstream country radio basically still suck?

Sunny: Well you know, what’s weird is that on Twitter there’s different radio stations that have I guess an automatic thing that they post – as they’re playing songs. And I’ve gotten a couple from different stations – like one was in Washington the other day, and one was in Indiana. So yeah it’s getting outside of Texas play which is good. We made the video and that will go on TV, so that’ll be really cool.

Vickye: Do you expect to get onto the Billboard Country Airplay charts, or are you just trying not to think about it?

Sunny: I don’t really try to think about it, because I feel like a good song grows legs and does its own thing. Whether or not it gets on radio, I feel like there’s other avenues for people to hear it, and plus with the internet now I mean I don’t know what in the hell we did before we had internet, I really don’t! I don’t have any idea, like I don’t know, I really truly do not understand how people did this business without it.

Vickye: I wouldn’t have a job without the internet, so I’m pretty glad it’s here!

Sunny: I know, ohmyGod!

Vickye: So you mentioned the video – can you give us any sneak info about the story, any cool shoots you did?

Sunny: Well I posted a picture sitting on a bed, so I know that that’s really original, since the song is called ‘My Bed’! It’s gonna be really cool and it’s an emotional video. It’s an emotional song and I feel like it had to match that. It’ll be out in a week I think.

Vickye: Is Will in it?

Sunny: Yeah.

Sunny Sweeney and Will Hoge on the set of ‘My Bed’.

Vickye: Was that fun?

Sunny: Yes! It was so fun. I love Will, I think he’s such a nice person and I feel like he stands out above the crowd as far as just the type of person that he is. Loves his family and that stands out to me, and he’s just a really nice person, he’s really really funny, and he is a fantastic songwriter and even better singer. I just love his voice. I was so happy that he said that he would do this song with me ‘cause he was actually the first and only choice we had! My manager mentioned it to me and said hey, well, what do you think about doing it as a duet? And I said I would love that, who were you thinking? He’s like Will Hoge, or… and I just go, if you can get Will Hoge to do it I’m in!

Vickye: So when you sat down to write the song was it literally as things like that were happening in your life or did you write it looking back on stuff that had happened?

Sunny: Well I’m pretty sure that it was Angaleena Presley’s idea. We wrote it in 2008, so… I don’t even know what year it is. You do the math, I’m in music not math!

Vickye: (laughs) Like seven years ago?

Sunny: Yeah seven years! But Angaleena and I had both been… I was watching my marriage fall apart and she’d gone through that. And Ashley Monroe had been through a bad relationship and it wasn’t – it’s not just about a marriage, that’s the thing, it can be about a long-term boyfriend or a friendship, I mean really anything. You’re just kind of at that point where you’re like, I’m out. I think everyone has at one time or another been through that.

Vickye: I think when you listen to ‘Provoked’, you can tell all these themes running through and it comes from a very personal place. So when you went into writing and recording for it, was it an organic process where you gathered songs that you’d written over time and thought this is a record, or did you say this is the record I wanna make, let’s write songs to that?

Sunny: No… there were like five songs on there that I wanted to put on my last record. Some of them are a little bit older, but I felt like they were part of the bridge from where I was last time with my record, and where I am currently. I knew I had songs about my marriage falling apart, I knew I had songs about the things that led up to my marriage falling apart, and then I was also happily married at the time when we made the new record, so I feel like we needed that song. And then we didn’t have a love song I mentioned to Natalie Hemby about the idea for ‘Used Cars’ and she was like yes! I wanna write that with you. Because it’s way more my speed than writing a song about butterflies or tulips – even though that’s not bad! That’s just not my speed and I don’t feel like that would fit, but I feel like writing a song about cars – a used car being my husband – who I love dearly and think hung the moon… and he loves cars so he was like, this is great, okay!

Vickye: Well I was gonna say, you’ve written quite blatantly about your ex-husband and your new husband on the record. How do they feel in general about being on there?

Sunny: Well I don’t talk to my ex-husband so I don’t really know. And my husband has been my friend since like 2004 I’ve known him, so he actually knew my ex-husband. He accepts me for my job and what I do just like I accept him for his job. He’s a police officer and if I all of a sudden were to go, I don’t want you to be a police officer anymore! He would be like, peace out, sistah! So it’s kind of the same thing, I knew what he did and he knew what I did when we go together. I think it just kind of works and he knows that that’s the way that I am and I like having songs that are personal, cause as a fan of music I feel like that’s what I connect to, so I would assume that that’s what other people connect to.

Vickye: Definitely, the critical praise I think for that album was testament to the fact that we need more personal stuff in country music at the moment.

Sunny: Well thank you! I really am proud of it, I hope that people continue to dig it. I really am excited about the video, I think that’ll be really cool.

Vickye: I wanted to touch on the song ‘Backhanded Compliment’ because I just love that song so much! Was that inspired by anything in particular, or was it something that just came together, it just happened?

Sunny: Well, okay. So it’s a long story, but… I have fake blonde hair. I don’t know if you know that it’s bleach, this is not real.

Vickye: (laughs) Me too.

Sunny: I think we all do! And so my hair was falling out, and my hair girl who’s done my hair forever, for like ten or twelve years – she said, we need to dye your hair brown or else your hair’s gonna fall out. And I was like I am not dying my hair brown, it isn’t gonna happen. And she was like well, then we need it cut it off because something needs to happen, your hair is in really shitty shape. And I’m like, okay. So she talked me into dying my hair brown and I was so insecure because I have never had brown hair and I just didn’t feel like myself. I go to this gig and this woman walks up to me and she’s like it’s cute! I mean but I liked you better as a blonde. I almost levitated and like jumped over the table! Everybody was behind me, like my tour manager and my husband and they were like chill out! It’s fine! The next week I went to write with Natalie Hemby and she had this song idea called ‘Backhanded Compliment’, and I said umm, I just had this happen last week! Somebody tries to be nice to you and they kind of kick you in the ass with their comment. Cause it’s like when people walk away and you’re like was that mean, or were they trying to be nice? And it just kinda takes you off guard. So we wrote that, that day, it was her idea but man we were laughing our butts off! Just at all this stuff. Cause she and I both look just like our mom. My mom – I think my mom’s really cute, but my mom’s 62. So I don’t want somebody to tell me that I look like a 62-year-old woman! When I’m telling my mom about this song, I’m like momma, you look good for being 62! And she’s like umm hello! That is a backhanded compliment right there! (laughs) So anyway when I do that song at shows, I always tell people, if you’ve ever heard yourself saying any of this to someone, don’t, because it’s rude! (laughs)

Vickye: Do you know what, there is one that I always get, and I’m never quite sure whether it really is a backhanded compliment? Where people say to me I really love that you’re honest with what you say in your articles, but I don’t always agree with you, but you’re great!

Sunny: (laughs) Yes, that’s a total backhanded compliment!

Vickye: So I’m like, basically you’re saying that some of my opinions are bullshit but you respect my right to write them! And it’s scary how many times I get it, it hasn’t just happened once. It’s happened countless times, so many people will just come up and say that, like the exact same thing every time.

Sunny: I sort of feel like when people come up to me it’s the exact same thing and they go, I hate chick singers, but I like you! And I’m like okay… thank you? Dick! So okay, so, basically you hate me but you’re tolerating me is what you’re saying.

Vickye: (laughing at lot at this point) Well that actually weirdly links in to something I was gonna ask you about actually, cause I wanted to talk about women on country radio in general. Do you think that bro-country is sexist?

Sunny: You know, everybody – everybody – that I’ve interviewed with asks me about this, and this is the thing. I think that there is enough room for everyone – and this is not a cop-out answer – I truly believe this. I think there’s room for everyone. Do I think a) that there should be more women? Absolutely. That I feel, yes. But I honestly think that the whole bro-country thing… it is what it is. There are guys doing their thing, and there are girls doing their thing, and I think that there’s power in numbers, and the more… there are so many badass women out right now, and it’s eventually going to be a movement. I feel like it has to be. There are songs that are considered bro-country that I find myself singing along to in the car – because they’re catchy as hell, I mean they’re so catchy. The sexist thing? I take that for what it’s worth, because you could turn that around and ask if mine is man-hater music. Which it’s not. I just feel like there’s room for everyone, and I feel like what’s gonna happen is gonna happen. I really truly believe that. That’s my answer – I know that it sounds like a cop-out but it’s really not. I feel like I’m doing what I’m doing, nobody’s trying to bother me, and tell me to not sing and write about the things that I wanna sing and write about. If they wanna sing and write about whatever then, let ‘em do it! Cause there’s room for all of us, it’s a big ass world out there.

Vickye: Did you… I don’t know if you’d wanna talk about this, but did you find that when you were with Big Machine they tried to shape you a little bit?

Sunny: Everything that happened when I was there, I feel like Scott Borchetta did everything he said he was gonna do. When we met – I met him on MySpace in like 2006 and I was there until 2012, so it was like a six year friendship that we had. I just feel like the way that it ended was amicable and friendly and we accomplished a lot together. I had a top 10 hit song and two top 40 songs… he did everything he said he was gonna do and I did everything I said I was gonna do, so I’m super happy that I had that experience. Because I made a ton of fans and got to meet a bunch of people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise, and honestly it was a really great experience. I’m pretty hard-headed so I don’t know that there was any shaping necessarily going on, but I do feel like we had a really good run. My favorite quote is that it’s showbusiness not showfriends. It was a business decision, we just amicably went our separate way and that’s that. Now I am doing my own thing and I’m having again the time of my life but I would have fun in a cardboard box. I’m not really that hard to please, you know?

Vickye: (laughs) So basically you’re a cat.

Sunny: Yeah! (laughs) I’m literally a cardboard box – I could have fun in a cardboard box.

Vickye: When you wanted to release the new album did you try looking for labels to ship it to or did you just decide no, I’m gonna be independent?

Sunny: When we met with Thirty Tigers – they reached out to us, and we met with him I loved David Macias – he’s the head of the label over there. He’s all about the artist, and he’s all about the artist being the artist, and for me that fit like a glove and it was just like a no-brainer.

Vickye: So coming back to the thing on radio, and women – would you ever incorporate other genres like pop and hip hop and rock, or even like EDM into your music, or is just not you?

Sunny: I don’t even know what EDM is.

Vickye: Electronic Dance Music.

Sunny: Yeah, um… probably not! The most wild I’ve gotten is Natalie Hemby introduced me to writing with drum loops and I’ve obsessed with it now. That’s pretty much gonna be the extent for me. I feel like what I’m doing is working for me, and my fans seem to like it. I don’t know, EDM kinda sounds like an anti-biotic!

Vickye: I think it’s an American term because obviously dance music and club music has been a thing over in Europe for like ages. I just started hearing the term EDM around the time it just started becoming popular in America, so I’m blaming you guys basically!

Sunny (laughs) Yeah, yeah! Well, continue that, I’ll blame ‘em too, I don’t know what it is!

Vickye: So how do you feel about that stuff being in country in general? Is it a natural progression or is it just not country?

Sunny: Well… you know, I’ve evolved, since my first record I’ve evolved. My band has evolved, my voice has evolved, I feel like people try different things. It’s the same thing as earlier, that’s the beauty of art, you can do whatever you want to. So if people wanna try to put raps in their songs and it’s selling and they like it and their fans like it then good on ya! For me personally I don’t know that I would personally do that, a) because I would sound ridiculous! Rapping! My friends from high school may differ in their opinion because I used to listen to Dr Dre and Vanilla Ice a lot!

Vickye: Wow! (laughs) I literally cannot imagine that.

Sunny: Yeah, there is a video of me actually singing the whole Vanilla Ice song… ‘Ice Ice Baby’.

Vickye: Please say this is on YouTube!

Sunny: No, on stage one night! There’s a video somewhere on YouTube of me doing that.

Vickye: (still laughing) Wow.

Sunny: Yeah, I wanna stab my eyes out now, but that’s okay! I’d had a couple of drinks.

Vickye: Would you ever do the Fresh Prince rap?

Sunny: I do know that one too.

Vickye: You should definitely do that.

Sunny: Are you talkin’ about living’ with my auntie and uncle in Bel Air?

Vickye: Yeah.

Sunny: I know that one, when it comes on TV I know it.

Vickye: Well, speaking about being on tour and on stage, you just wrapped being on tour with Miranda Lambert. What was that like?

Sunny: It was amazing, and she is cool as shit. I love her so much. And I love her band and I love her crew. And I love her catering. Her catering is impeccable! It was amazing, I hope we get to do it again sometime.

Vickye: What was the food like?

Sunny: So good, and so healthy. There was like egg white omelettes for breakfast, and fruit, and there’s tofu everything – and I love tofu so much, it was just great. There was tofu BLTs one day and I almost fell outta my chair I was so happy.

Vickye: (laughs)

Sunny: I was like YES! This is healthy and I’m not gonna get fat being out here!

Vickye: Well she went on a diet didn’t she?

Sunny: Er, she looks amazing, and her food I’m serious – I’ve been out with a bunch people and her food is one of the top ones. If I had to rate catering her food is impeccable.

Vickye: Have you ever considered collaborating with Miranda on any songs?

Sunny: Oh we’ve never talked about that, I was just glad to be out on the road with her. I hope that maybe someday that could be an option, because I do think she’s awesome. We sang at the end of all the shows – me and her and her harmony singer Gwen Sebastian – we sang a Dixie Chicks song at the end of every show and it’s on YouTube, there were people that were puttin’ it on YouTube, and that was a crazy experience. Cause I’ve never sang with two girls at the same time, so that was great.

Vickye: That sounds amazing, I love the Dixie Chicks!

Sunny: Oh God I’m obsessed! I love Natalie, I’m obsessed with her, I love her so much. And you can tell her I said that!

Vickye: I’d never seen them and then they came over and played the C2C Festival in London last year, and it was amazing. I stood up the entire show and the whole crowd was just sitting there politely clapping, and I’m like singing along to every song!

Sunny: Oh no, I think they’re still one of the best bands that ever existed, and they all are musicians, and they all sing and they all write and they all play. They’re just badasses and God I love them so much. I listen to all of their records at least once a week, I mean truly at least once a week.

Vickye: Yeah, they are so good, I really, really hope they get back together.

Sunny: OhmyGod, ME TOO.

Vickye: So, what are your upcoming plans for this year? Obviously you’re promoting ‘My Bed’ but what else is coming up?

Sunny: Well, I am playing with Hank Jr in July, I’m really excited about that.

Vickye: Oh, what’s that for?

Sunny: Oh, some festival, I don’t know. But I’m really pumped about it because I think he’s a legend and I’ve played with him before and he brings moonshine. So I’m doing that and then I’m playing in the Virgin Islands in about a month. I’m doing a bunch of random stuff, just festival gigs and fairs and stuff like that. It’ll all be on my website so keep an eye out. And then if you are ever over here and you don’t call me, I’m gonna be pissed.

Vickye: (laughs) Well I’m trying, it’s stupidly expensive. I was in Nashville nearly a year ago now, and I miss it so much.

Sunny: Yeah, yeah. Austin – I live in Austin but I visit Nashville once a month for a about a week. It’s my second home but I do truly love living in Austin. There are so many people from the UK and Europe that come over here and never leave! (laughs) So maybe you come over and you visit and you never go home!

Vickye: Yeah that sounds fair! I’ve always wanted to visit Austin.

Sunny: It’s great.

Vickye: Is it true that it’s more liberal than other places in Texas?

Sunny: Oh, it’s the only I think liberal town in Texas. It’s just very melting pot, where there’s people from all over here, all different walks of life, all different races, all different ages, it’s just amazing. It’s a great city to have kids in. There’s tons to do, lots of music, tons of music – ohmyGod and right now it’s SXSW. Tonight I’m actually playing the Austin Music Awards and I’m singing with Charlie Sexton’s band and I am so excited about it!

Vickye: That sounds really cool.

Sunny: Yeah, and there’s this new chick that I met last night at rehearsal and her name is Tameka Jones. She goes by Starlight Jones on Instagram and she is a baaadass! Like I am not even kidding you – I was just like staring at her while she sings. You’ll have to look her up, she’s just this black chick who sings her ever-loving ass off. I mean she is amazing. Just amazing.

Vickye: That’s definitely what I’m gonna do now! I meant to ask you about Twitter – how come you follow so many people?

Sunny: Because when people – I always use Twitter as a free way to communicate. I look at it like a fan and if I would have had Twitter when I was little and Merle Haggard would have had Twitter and I had a direct line of communication to him, I would have done it, you know? A lot of people I follow because I like them, or I think they’re funny. But a lot of times it’s cause people are like will you follow me? And I’m like hell yeah I’ll follow you, I don’t care! I think it’s a direct line of communication. I’ve made some really good friends on there that are fans that have turned into friends.

Vickye: Well thanks so much for talking to me!

Sunny: Yes! I can’t wait to actually meet you.

Vickye: Well, come to the UK!

Sunny: I have been there twice, I can’t wait to come again, I love it. Tell everybody I said hi! And tel everybody that I like their food there!

Vickye: (laughs) I will!

Sunny: This is a common theme with me, do you see? All I think about is eating. I exercise so that I can eat! I will never give up food or alcohol.

Vickye: Yeah, I literally am begging my boyfriend to take me to Italy just so I can eat.

Sunny: Um, okay, one quick funny story. When I went to Italy before, I went for two weeks for a vacation. I called my mom from Florence, after I ate a six-course meal, and I’m walking down the street with my pants unzipped and unbuttoned. Then I get to my hotel room to call my mom and tell her goodbye, because I thought I had eaten myself to death. She’s like, Sunny, stop being a pain in the ass and make yourself puke or something! You cannot physically eat yourself to death. And I was like moaning and groaning like ohmyGod, I think I ate myself to death, and she’s like would you stop being a pain in the ass? You’re fine! But I swear to God I ate so much I thought I was gonna die, I really did. Truly. I was so sick because I ate so much, but the food was so good! You are gonna love it there.